TCN News:
The students of Jamia Millia Islamia (Central University) have expressed unconditional solidarity with Kashmiri students studying at AMU at the same time showing their deep concern and absolute dismay at the lodging of FIR against the Kashmiri students.
The students have been “allegedly accused” of holding funeral prayers, which is a falsely fabricated story by media and subsequently denied in a “joint letter” by 1200 students from J&K to media and concerned authorities and equally refuted by PRO, AMU.
In their press release the students have said that the gathering of Kashmiri students was in the backdrop of disturbing and tense media reports about Kashmir shown by media during the day, after the killing of Manan Wani, a former AMU scholar and snapping of mobile and internet connectivity in Kashmir, not for funeral prayer.
‘We have no reason to believe that the Kashmiri students gathering and sitting at Kennedy hall lawn was in any way unlawful.
But in a bid to vitiate the peace and order in the university campus, sitting Kashmiri students were attacked with Lathis by non-Kashmiri students of AMU, despite ‘Kashmiri students dispersing peacefully without offering any funeral prayer’. We unequivocally condemn this act of brazen provocation by non-Kashmiri students and reject the unsubstantiated farcical reports of funeral prayer.’ Said the student body.
They further accused the media to be hostile towards the Kashmiri students and constantly running fabricated stories against the students, conducting media trials and vilifying the students who are studying in different universities in India.
The students also expressed their surprise at the inaction and anti-Kashmir approach of the AMU authorities in dealing with the AMU students; saying that AMU and other universities must understand that the discussion at university campuses on the deteriorating political conditions in Kashmir is not repugnant to universal principles of freedom and those guaranteed by article 19A of Indian constitution.
Through the press release statement, the Kashmiri students of Jamia Millia Islamia, have demanded an immediate revocation of FIR’s against Kashmiri AMU students, withdrawal of show-cause notices and an end to this political intimidation and politically motivated biased media reportage against Kashmiri students, otherwise with existential threat clouding over us in this pepetual climate of fear that challenges and hampers our academic pursuits and well-being.
“we all will surrender our degrees En-masse and de-register from the enrolled courses in toto” and hit the road back to Kashmir and all the onus will lie on the concerned authorities, they said if their demands are not met.